The Classic used an air-cooled twin-rotor Wankel engine that had been developed by David Garside at BSA's Umberslade Hall research facility.

Having obtained a licence from Felix Wankel in 1972, Garside then created a prototype twin-rotor engine (with F&S rotors) which doubled the capacity of the earlier test "mule".

This air passed through the interior of the rotors and then into a large pressed-steel plenum before entering the combustion chambers via twin carburettors.

[7] Source:[8] While its engine was revolutionary, in other respects, such as appearance, suspension and brakes, the Norton Classic was a conventional twin-shock roadster.

The air-cooled Classic was lighter and more powerful than its only Wankel competitor in production, the over-complicated single-rotor Suzuki RE-5 motorcycle (which had liquid-cooled jackets and an oil-cooled rotor).

The Wankel's virtues of smoothness, compactness and lightness should be particularly suitable for aircraft, especially since the start-up procedure and the taxi to the runway gives ample time for warm-up.